design
More and more people are enjoying the way ponds and watergardens help them keep in touch with nature, enjoy tranquility and slip into peaceful reflection. But these watershapes are small ecosystems and can pose a range of challenges – some of them, as we shall explore here, related to maintaining proper water levels. The average pond can lose its water in a number of ways, anything from small leaks or wicking from waterfalls to evaporation or small animals taking their share. Pond professionals and pond owners all know this, of course, but most rely on manual refilling methods – that is, a bucket or a nearby garden hose – instead of devising more elaborate filling systems. To be sure, the classic manual methods are tried and true, but some have
Back in January 2009, WaterShapes ran a big article on the team effort involved in installing the first-generation rainwater-harvesting system developed by the folks at Aquascape (St. Charles, Ill.). Ed Beaulieu’s article (linked below) went into great detail on how everything came together, so I won’t duplicate that information here. But I feel obliged to stress the point that a
It’s not every day you get the chance to work on a project that’s going to be seen around the world by millions of people for decades to come. That was exactly the opportunity that came our way in October 1999, when we were asked by the Denver Broncos to construct an elaborate waterfeature at Invesco Field at Mile High, a brand-new stadium that
Pebble Technology (Scottsdale, AZ) has introduced the Finishing Touches pool-tile collection. The three lines have…
Please note: All of the issues listed below are available online, free of charge. Printed…
‘Why isn’t the appropriate use of water a defining, central component in the education of landscape architects?’ That’s how Mark Holden began a series of articles called “Future Class” in the March 2007 edition of WaterShapes. He continued: ‘That question has rattled around in my head for a long, long time, basically because it has no adequate or satisfactory
To me, there’s no watershape more relaxing or intrinsically beautiful than a well-designed, well-appointed spa. The combination of warmth, immersion and jet action is enough to knock the edge off the roughest day, and I’ve always found that conversation comes more easily when I’m neck-deep in
Putting a residential pool project out for bid can be a perilous undertaking for a property owner – especially when the home in question is new and architects or custom-home builders are involved in the process. Quite often, the architect or home builder will reach out to a local volume builder who, for free, will come in and provide a quote based on
By Jim McCloskey As someone who sat in a spa for the first time in 1970 and has relaxed in a great many of them through the years, I have to confess that I’m not a fan of most I see physically attached to swimming pools. Yes, I love the way they feel when
When my family started in the pool and spa service business some 25 years ago, it didn’t take us long to recognize that there was very little available to us by way of education about water chemistry – or, for that matter, about most of the other skills involved in maintaining pools, spas and other waterfeatures. That didn’t make much sense to us, even then. After all, how could an industry devoted to the health, safety and comfort of millions of people function without addressing the need for standardized approaches to water maintenance or
